This invention relates generally to material or article handling and, more specifically, to vehicles which are self-loading or unloading and include successive handling means.
The evolution of the hay industry in recent years indicates a diversification in baling, storing and transporting hay with a strong trend toward using larger bales. Large round bales, varying in weight from about 800 pounds to about 1600 pounds and varying in width from about four feet to about six feet, are rapidly replacing the relatively smaller conventional bales.
Due to the large size of round bales, there is a need for equipment which can pick up the bales in the field, transport the bales to a remote storage area and deposit or dump large loads of round bales at the storage area. Also, such equipment must be flexible in the ability to deal with bales ranging in width from the aforesaid four to six feet. Furthermore, it is important that the bale handling equipment be able to arrange and control the position of bales on the transporter bed after the bales have been picked up. Transporting larger loads of bales reduces fuel usage and the time required for bale handling.
Currently known round bale equipment is limited in being able to successfully pick up, transport and dump large loads of round bales, e.g., eight to ten bales, and cope with the varying bale size. Some equipment is available for handling large loads of bales but this equipment is tractor drawn and is thus limited by tractor speed and reduced maneuverability. Other equipment available is self-propelled, such as a pickup truck attachment for handling large bales. While this other equipment avoids the speed and maneuverability limitations of tractor drawn equipment, it sacrifices the economic advantage associated with transporting a large number of bales.
In controlling the position of bales on the transporter bed, it is important to be able to accommodate various size bales. For example, a mechanical linkage which cycles through repetitive motions to move or cross-convey a bale from a first position to a second position may perform satisfactorily while handling bales of one size, however, when handling bales of a second size, the linkage movement may not engage and disengage the bale properly and may not deliver the bale to the same second position.
The foregoing illustrates limitations of the known prior art. Thus, it is apparent that it would be advantageous to provide an alternative directed to overcoming one or more of the limitations as set forth above.